


A Doctor Called Grimm

by Weresilver-In-Space (JuhllyMBS)



Series: Dr. Grimm [1]
Category: Doom (2005), Star Trek, Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Comatose Dream, Concerned crew, Gen, John Grimm is Leonard McCoy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-22
Updated: 2019-10-31
Packaged: 2020-07-11 16:00:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,617
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19930714
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JuhllyMBS/pseuds/Weresilver-In-Space
Summary: John had been doing things like this for long enough to know better. But the safety of his crew - his friends - would take priority over his own demons any day.





	1. Chapter 1

"A doctor called Grimm." He noted playfully. The other man groaned. "Oh, come on, you gotta appreciate the irony there."

"I'd appreciate if you shut up already."

What the hell was Jim Kirk doing on medbay? In his _office_? Probably there to test his patience as he worked on reports, that's what.

"Bones," Jim called. John only hummed in response, not looking up from his desk of scattered PADDs. "When was the last time you left medbay?"

"Jim," he sighed, finally stopping writing and looking up at him. "Don't you have a bridge to run instead of loitering around my medbay?"

"Now that's _rude_ ," he laughed. "No, shift ended three hours ago." Jim watched the frown on John's features with mild amusement. There he was, losing track of time again. "And I took the _beta_ shift, as per _someone's_ orders of rest."

"Jim –"

" _Bones_." Jim put on that face of stubbornness and John knew that was a battle he'd lose. "Don't make me order it. Get up, old man."

He grumbled something under his breath but got up – not without wincing in pain. That was new. He took mental note of that for later.

*****

"When was the last time you left medbay?" Jim asked, but there was no response. "Now _that's_ rude." His laugh was humorless, an attempt to lighten his own mood, even if briefly. He leaned back against the chair beside the biobed. "Dammit, Bones, I know you're in there somewhere, so you better wake up soon."

And how it stung to see Leonard like that. So still and, well, unconscious. Jim had to pay too close attention to see the rise and fall of his chest. He took a steadying breath. He was hardly any help hovering in medbay like that, and he should attend to his duties at some point.

" _Bones_ ," his voice was barely above a whisper, laden with emotion, "By God, you better get up, old man."

*****

There was nothing wrong. No reason for the pain he was feeling. John poked at the area around his right ribcage and scanned it multiple times, careful of any sound coming from outside of his office. There was nothing wrong. And yet, there he was, holding his side in something he hadn't truly felt in so long.

He heard someone come in, expected it to be Christine or Geoffrey. The quiet gasp didn't belong to either. Instead, he met Spock's gaze once he looked up to face his visitor.

"First Jim, now you," he grumbled, "What do you want, Spock?"

"I came to check in on you, Doctor." Controlled as ever, though there was something else in his voice. "Just as the captain did."

"I'm fine, thanks," he grunted out, turning his attention back to the report he couldn't finish because of Jim's interruption.

"I should remind you, Doctor, that it has been three days now." Spock's voice and expression were utterly blank, and instead of providing anything more useful than that, he simply raised an eyebrow at him as if John should know what he was talking about.

He sighed, focusing – again – on that damned report he had to finish. And Spock was gone as well, as abruptly as he had shown up. It was all slightly unsettling if he were honest.

*****

"Do we even know why the Vurtas shot at us?" Jim was doing a good job of keeping his temper under control, but he wasn't sure how long that would last. "We were there to talk about a _peace treaty_."

He was pacing about on the bridge, sticking close to Nyota as she worked on translating the message the ship had just received. He took note to apologize to her, as well as to Doctor M'Benga at some point.

The swish of the turbolift's door caused him to turn around and almost collide against his first officer as he walked onto the bridge. "Captain," he said as a greeting. Jim was sure the question was written all over his face, but even if it weren't, Spock knew how to find it. "Doctor McCoy still seems to be in considerable pain." He was talking only to Jim, and Nyota by extension. "I have asked Doctor M'Benga to adjust the analgesic dosage."

Nyota turned back to her station without a sound. Jim took a deep breath. Okay, Bones wasn't going to wake up so soon. There was hardly any reason for this, though. More times than Jim was comfortable with, he had to admit, Bones had been shot, and every single time he had bounced back up just hours later as if nothing had happened. In all those years he spent overworking himself, Jim never once saw him sick either.

And he had bounced back up after the last incident, alright. But now he was in medbay, unconscious and _in pain_.

*****

Something was off. John knew for a fact that something was off. He'd hear noises and voices just outside his office, but when he'd walk outside in order to check the source of such ruckus, he would find no one. The noises and voices, however, persisted.

Seeing as whatever pain he felt was gone, he settled on walking around the ship for a moment. A terrible idea, really, as he found it deserted. How the thing was running without a single soul other than himself remained a mystery.

It didn't take that long for his thoughts to catch up with him. He stood by the turbolift doors on the bridge; the equally empty bridge. _Everyone_ was gone. Hell, even Spock's company would be better than being alone in the tin can of a ship.

_Okay._

Alright, he could manage it. He stepped back into the turbolift. Maybe Jim and Spock were right and he had spent way too long holed up in his office. "Computer," he started, "Is there anyone else aboard the Enterprise?" Well, that came out considerably steadier than he was feeling at the moment.

" _Negative._ "

Negative. The confirmation that he wasn't, in fact, losing his mind was unsettling, to say the least. He took to wandering the ship, trying to prove the computer wrong.

Jim and Spock were with him just… How long ago? He couldn't recall, and the ship's computer was silent when he asked what time it was. He asked about the ship's functioning, and it responded. Good, the last thing John needed was the computer also giving out on him.

In his distraction, he stopped in front of his quarters. Maybe that was all he needed. Maybe he had already fallen asleep at his desk and this was just a way of his brain to tell him to go to his damn bed next time. He certainly hoped that was it.

*****

"Their message talked about an offense of some kind." Nyota started, handing the PADD to Jim across the table. "They are as clear about it as you'd expect."

Jim frowned.

"As you know, Captain, the Vurtas are a…" Spock paused, likely choosing his words. "Reactive species."

That was an interesting way to say violent. It was the reason the Enterprise had been in orbit around Beluyo in the first place, to make sure no more unnecessary conflicts would happen.

"You were there, Spock." Jim didn't look up from the PADD. "The hell we could've done to warrant being shot at?" The two of them knew the answer to that. _Nothing_. Either they were easily offended or…

Jim wasn't surprised to see the message end with a note to cease the talks. It crossed his mind then that maybe these people were never interested in a treaty anyway. They might have simply created an excuse for themselves and ended it in the way they wanted to.

"Did you request they send one of their guns to the ship?" He finally looked up to Spock, silent and still beside Nyota. He tried to remember a situation where the ready room had had this kind of heavy atmosphere, but nothing came to mind.

"Captain –"

"No, just…" Jim caught himself, raising a hand to cut her off before he said something he'd regret later. "Whatever is going on is some complication of the shot he – That he took for me. If we could get one of their guns, I'm sure that –"

"Captain," Nyota spoke with a firmer voice, reaching out for his hand in order to place it flat against the table. "They've completely shut us out." Jim took a sharp intake of breath. "They stopped all communications the moment the three of you came back up. This message was the first and only thing since then."

*****

John did wake up in his office, although not quite the way he expected to, with his face plastered onto the PADDs he had with him. No, it was as though he had just recovered from a blackout, in the exact same position he had been in while working.

It didn't feel right. Not at all.

He looked down at the PADD directly in front of him. His own medical file was open, and he was… Editing it? Adding to it? The hiss of the door drew his attention away before he could dwell on the topic, and whatever complaints he had on the tip of his tongue about being interrupted again died right there.

"Ny." He beckoned her to sit down.

"Hey," her voice was softer than he remembered ever hearing, but he decided to not question that. "How are you?"

"Just peachy," he replied. She raised a brow at him. "Just uh, had a bit of a weird dream."

"Not gonna lie," she spoke with a smile, "You do look pretty bad, doc."

"It's what happens when you sleep on your seat, apparently." John looked down at his PADD, but couldn't keep his focus on it, not with Nyota there with him. Instead, he asked, "Is everything alright?"

"Everything – and everyone is fine." There was something in the way she was looking at him that made his stomach turn. Nyota sounded almost sad as she spoke, "All that's left is you getting out of this medbay." He couldn't hold the chuckle after that, but Nyota gently took his hand and continued, "It's been four days, I think we all could use seeing you out and about by now."

"What are –" John's thoughts evaded him in spite of how grounding her hands were just then. "It's –" It hadn't been four days. It couldn't have. No way he sat there for four days straight and neither Jim or Spock had shown up to order him off duty.

The worst part might have been the fact he had no reason to doubt what she was saying. He had already lost track of time when Jim showed up.

Again, the automatic door interrupted his thoughts, for once welcome. Short-lived, however, as M'Benga appeared only to call Nyota away, leaving him alone again.

John finally turned his attention back to the PADDs on his desk, to his own medical file. Jim's and Spock's as well, both of which were lying close by. There was one personal file open amidst the mess, a file of some… Leonard McCoy.

He recognized that name from somewhere, but he'd be damned if he could tell why. Something was _terribly_ off, and he could feel it.

And then the pain flared up again, and he couldn't feel anything other than that.

*****

"Uhura," Geoffrey called from the doorframe to the private room. "Spock's looking for you."

"Alright." She gave Leonard's hand a light squeeze before walking away from the biobed. Outside, she turned to Geoffrey once again. "Let us know if anything changes, alright?"

"Of course." He gave her the best reassuring smile he could. And then she left.

He sighed, turning to the office he had been using the past few days. Of course, it wasn't the first time he had to run medbay, but the situation was drastically different from having Doctor McCoy on an away mission. He sat in front of the computer, monitoring the man's vitals with careful attention.

When it happened, four days earlier, Leonard barely had the time to warn anyone before he suddenly collapsed. His vitals were all over the place, and just stabilizing him proved to be one hell of a struggle, what with his metabolism burning through most drugs before they could do anything. He was still below what he would call normal, but at least he was _stable_.

Or had been, until luck decided to leave him to his own devices. The alarm blared from the room, and Geoffrey only threw a glance at the computer monitor before darting out toward his patient.

*****

His side still hurt. It shouldn't be, it shouldn't even have started aching in the first place. But at least he felt like he had it in him to breathe. John opened his eyes slowly. He was lying down, and the room was far too dark to be medbay.

His quarters, then. He pushed himself to a sitting position and turned to the clock. Blank. Admittedly, he wasn't sure what he expected. He fell asleep without a lick of a notion of time, as not even the ship's computer would relay such information.

It dawned on him then that he had fallen asleep alone on the ship. He held his breath, straining to listen to anything other than his own heartbeat. There was nothing. He breathed out, then in, and out, in, out.

He really should get his act together, he was a soldier. He could handle solitude for a while, at least in order to figure out what happened to the crew. John walked up to the door just enough for it to open and tried listening again. There was absolutely nothing.

He walked out with careful, silent steps. A simple walk through the ship. First through the corridors of deck five, then to the bridge and to the engineering section. By the time he got there, decidedly ignoring the medbay for some reason, he questioned if he should be walking around with the constant dull ache on his side. He might as well have gone through the whole damn tin can and he couldn't find anyone else.

"Computer," he started, leaning against the far wall of the turbolift, "How many people are aboard the Enterprise?"

" _Two._ "

Huh. Not the reply he expected. "Where is the mystery person?"

" _The other crew member is located on deck 7, section 2. Medical bay._ "

Well, if it wasn't his luck. He ordered the change in his course so he could meet with whoever had hidden away in medbay. He stopped a few steps short of the door, distant just enough for it to stay closed. His hesitation didn't make any sense, so with a final intake of breath, he walked in.

*****

"What do you mean with –?" Jim asked with a somewhat strangled voice. "What happened?"

"His heartbeat shot up out of nowhere," Geoffrey began as soon as they entered the office. "Oxygen saturation also dropped; his breathing was too rapid and too shallow.."

Jim slumped into the visitor chair as soon as he could reach it.

"He's stable now, Captain." Geoffrey wouldn't sit down, Jim realized, no matter how many times they walked into this room. "But to be honest, I don't know when he's waking up." The doctor sighed, "I have only a vague idea of what's happening but I've asked Commander Spock to come to the labs, first thing in the morning."

There were two things there that Jim latched onto as if his life depended on it – which in hindsight, it could have, in the long run. _When_ Leonard was waking up. That single word took off tension Jim didn't even realize he was carrying on his shoulders. And Geoffrey seemed to have a theory on just what the hell happened to him. That was better than what they had the day before.

"What do you think is going on?" With a quiet voice, Jim turned to face him then.

"Leonard mentioned he was hit with a plasma weapon." Jim frowned slightly, unsure how he was able to tell the difference. "There is the possibility of whatever they used for the plasma entering his bloodstream somehow."

"Like…" Jim paused, digging into his memory. "Like a phase-pulse infection?"

Geoffrey took a second of consideration. "Something like it, yeah," he nodded. "Though it might be closer to poisoning." Jim gave a slight shudder at the words. "And if that's the case, I shouldn't give him anything until we know exactly _what_ it is."

And that, Geoffrey knew, was about the only thing that could stop Dr. McCoy.

*****

 _John_.

He stepped into the room carefully, the whole place darker than usual with only the red emergency lights on. But then again the whole place was out of power, wasn't it?

Except it wasn't, he was on the En–

A series of snarls and growls from the corridor behind him sprang him into action and he closed the door, making a small barricade with whatever was around him. They wouldn't get in if he could help it, but god, the pain he felt was bordering unbearable.

_You've been hit… Oh, John…_

He let himself slide down the wall mere steps away from his poorly built barricade. He pressed a hand to his side, but there was no wound to explain the constant pain he felt anymore, he simply felt it.

John felt oddly tired. He took the deepest breath he could, but it was a shallow one. He chalked it up to the pain. He was also –

_You're cold. Shivering._

Yeah, that. It was odd, basically hearing her voice on audio playback in his head. Samantha wasn't there, left behind at some point in the 21st century. He wasn't sure what good acknowledging any of that would do to him, but… Well, that he would miss his sister should go without saying.

_Stay awake._

Scratch what he had told himself earlier, he _was_ losing it. He looked up when warm hands gently touched his face, bringing his head up ever so slightly.

He breathed out, "Sam?"

"Hey, John." She was sitting by his side with the faintest of smiles. Hearing his name out loud felt surprisingly strange as if he had also left it behind at some point.

"You're –"

"Doesn't matter." She took his free hand, turning to the door. "They are out there." Her voice was gentle, and even without looking at him, she knew when to stop him from talking. "I don't mean the monsters. Your demons." She gave his hand a small squeeze. "Although, I guess they are somewhere too."

John huffed a laugh at that, in spite of the throbbing pain of his ribs. "Don't suppose you know a quick way through?"

"That's not up to me, is it?" He shook his head in silence. "Your crew is out there. You gotta get your sorry ass up."

"You're not actually giving me a choice."

"If I gave you one, you'd choose wrong." She raised an eyebrow at him and spoke with a much firmer voice, "You know what will happen if you stay."

"Doesn't mean I care." He sagged against the wall, after a beat of silence, with a sigh. "I don't wanna leave you again."

"I'm pretty sure they'll need you more than me, Doctor McCoy." She gave him a reassuring smile after her… Reminder. "So, for the love of God, get up already."

*****

"I thought you had already run a blood test, Doctor?"

"Yeah, it was the first test I did," Geoffrey stated quite simply as they walked, "But I didn't know what to look for, and I could use your help in identifying what isn't in our database."

Spock considered his words for a brief moment. "You seem confident we will find something."

"With all due respect, Commander," he paused at the door to the labs, "We both know it'd take something like poisoning to keep Leonard down."

"Indeed," Spock spoke courtly as he entered the lab, "The doctor has proven to be… Resilient on enough occasions."

Being the one appointed as Spock's personal physician, Geoffrey had to learn how to read the small signs. They worked in silence, but it wasn't that difficult to see, every few glances, the tension in him. Spock's shoulders were stiff. More than usual, some would say. His eyes moved about the workspace, but there was a fleeting glance thrown at him at some point.

"Doctor," Spock called a little suddenly, but not turning to him. "I advise against diverting your attention from the task at hand."

"I can multitask a little, Commander," Geoffrey replied with a small huffed laugh. "Have you been meditating these past few days?"

"Not in a satisfactory manner." The Vulcan let out a small sigh. "The ship's morale _has_ suffered considerably."

The doctor gave him a rueful smile. Leonard had been virtually unshakeable over the years, and he was something of a grounding presence for many of the younger crewmembers. This was a blow, alright, and they were all feeling it.

*****

Jim stared through the window of the mess hall, absentmindedly poking at his food. He didn't have an appetite nor anything better to do. They were waiting on Starfleet Command, but he was fairly certain their orders would be to leave Beluya.

"Captain." Nyota placed her tray across his and sat down, finally drawing his attention away from the planet they were orbiting. "If you're not gonna eat, I think you should go rest."

The noise he made was between a grunt and a laugh. "I'm fine, Lieutenant." And he was, he just felt… Anxious. Spock and M'Benga were in the labs, trying to figure out what happened to Bones, and he felt a little useless, just sitting around in the mess hall or even on the bridge.

She looked at him as if she could see every thought going about in his head. He gave her a small smile that would have worked on anyone else and actually began eating. But of course, she knew better.

"Leonard will be fine," she said after taking a bite of her sandwich. "They'll find the cause of this."

"I don't doubt their ability, Uhura," he spoke truthfully. Doctor M'Benga was a great physician himself, and Jim never had any doubts about Spock's dedication. "I just…" _Shouldn't have let him do that? Should have seen we were going nowhere?_ He sighed. "He shouldn't throw himself into danger like that."

"Well," she took another bite. "Now you know how he feels like, let's say, eighty percent of the time."

"It's part of my job," he tried to argue, "As captain, I have to make sure the crew is safe." _And yet, his best friend was in a coma._

"And Leonard is a doctor who won't let anyone get hurt if he can help it," she stated matter-of-factly. "He would've done it for any other crewmember, just like you would, so don't you criticize him for acting on it."

*****

In spite of the aching ribcage and his own instinct yelling at him to not move, he took down the barricade he had built and walked out.

It seemed some lines were blurred, after all. One step, he was in Olduvai, walking through the corridors of the facility. A turn to a different direction, and he was on the Enterprise, staring at a turbolift door.

It didn't matter much where he actually was. Eventually, everything went dark.

*****

Spock entered his quarters without much of a noise. The lingering scent of a slightly bitter blend of tea was enough proof that he wasn't alone in the room.

"Nyota?" He called as he walked further in.

She walked into the common area of his quarters with a cup of tea in her hands. "Spock," she greeted, pressing the cup onto his hands. "How are you?"

"We identified the compound," Spock said, taking the cup in his hands. "Doctor M'Benga is working on an… Antidote as we speak."

He sipped the tea before he moved to the bedroom. The brief pause in his voice didn't go unnoticed, but Nyota didn't comment on it. Instead, she sat down on the bed beside him.

"He sent you out." It wasn't a question. His silence worked as confirmation regardless. "And you think you'd be more helpful down there."

"It is illogical to refuse assistance when time is such an important factor." Spock quickly finished his tea and moved to the meditation mat. He was still facing Nyota's general direction but didn't quite meet her gaze. "Such a course of action could easily cost Doctor McCoy's life."

"I get that you're worried, Spock, we all are." She chose to ignore Spock's raised brow and continued, "But I think you are underestimating Geoffrey." She didn't take her eyes away from him at any moment. "Len wouldn't trust his medbay to anyone less capable than himself, you know that."

"Doctor M'Benga's abilities are not in question, Nyota."

"Maybe not," she breathed out, "But the fact is that you _and_ the captain have been spreading yourselves too thin since this whole thing started." Her voice was stern but her expression betrayed the concern she felt. "You haven't been meditating or sleeping well these past few days, Spock, it shows. You need to rest."

*****

Jim's presence on the bridge had nothing to do with how Scotty had run things during beta shift. On the contrary, the Scotsman had been 'surprisingly responsible on the chair', as he was told, in a half-joking tone, by Sulu. Jim knew he could trust him to be in command.

The truth was he couldn't find anything else to do. He could hardly sit still and he was too restless for sleep. Admittedly, he thought of going back to medbay, but he also thought of doing something somewhat useful with himself that day. So he made his way to the bridge instead.

He stopped by the ready room to pick up the PADD he'd abandoned at the end of the alpha shift before taking his place on the captain chair. He smiled at the crew around him as a greeting, and the usual reports were given.

They were well on their way to Starbase 534 and should arrive before the end of the gamma shift. There were no occurrences worth noting until that moment. Nothing out of the ordinary was reported by any sections of the ship.

Most faces on the bridge were ones Jim wasn't as familiar with. It was unlikely they could tell that the light tapping of his feet wasn't that different from a nervous tick. Jim wasn't sure how many of his senior officers had picked up on it either, but Bones called him out on it during the first month in the Academy and had been doing it whenever he caught it.

He sighed.

Bones better wake up soon, a good portion of the crew already had frayed nerves after five days. And as captain, Jim knew he was doing a terrible job of keeping people's spirits up.

Jim sent a message to Geoffrey, asking for updates, then finally turned his attention to the bureaucratic work he chose for himself.

*****

Geoffrey spent the day in the labs, trying to make sure that the counteragent would actually work. Leonard's body was doing an incredible job of not giving out completely, but professionally speaking, he knew he couldn't count on the same luck he'd had until the day before.

It was taking a lot to keep Leonard stable as it was, and no special healing factor would pull him out if that compound stayed in his body, shutting down so much of it as it did. Who knew a faulty plasma gun could create so many problems? It could be by design, it dawned on him. If the shot itself didn't kill their target, the poison would.

It would likely be more dangerous to Leonard if he had been shot on the heart, for example, and wasn't that a thought. He had to give it to him, at least he knew what he was doing enough to avoid _that_.

The ping of the synthesizer brought his attention back to his surroundings. The counteragent should work. There was no reason for it not to. He paid no mind to the new message on his communicator, and he was sure whoever it was wouldn't mind the delay in his response.

*****

They were loud. The three voices he could actually focus on were quite loud. John wasn't sure who was talking, or what they were talking about. It was all just jumbled noise, but he felt close to… Wherever he had to go.

He wasn't moving. Or at least he wasn't making an effort to, but the voices were coming and going around him. He wanted to open his eyes and escape the darkness around him, but he didn't have the strength then.

 _Leonard_ , the name they called sounded so clear, so suddenly, that his heart skipped a beat. There was a moment of silence after that. Apparently, they noticed it. It was hard to tell how long everything was silent for, but eventually, the murmurs started again.

It took him even longer to realize that they called for him. He hadn't been John Grimm for so long that anyone else would have forgotten the name. But did he ever forget anything in the two centuries that he lived so far? Wasn't that half of the reason he was in that situation in the first place?

 _Leonard McCoy_ was his name at the time. Chief Medical Officer aboard the Enterprise, whose job was primarily keeping these people in one piece. And truth be told, he wouldn't change a thing about it.

He found himself lying flat on something. His initial thought was that it was the floor, but it was rather soft. He groaned, tired, taking a hand to his face in order to rub his eyes. Everything went silent again. He hummed at that.

"Leonard," someone called, and he could understand them clearly for a change. "Doctor McCoy." He still couldn't be bothered to respond.

"John, you're clearly awake," a man commented, "So have the decency of reacting."

That earned him a glare. Yeah, he was awake. Geoffrey was standing, somewhat nervously, on the other end of the biobed, careful to not look anywhere but him. A slip of the tongue, of course. John settled on sitting up to grab the glass of water on the cupboard beside the bed, taking the attention away from Geoffrey.

"Bones." Jim was the first to turn back to him, trying to help but getting waved away instead. "Bones, are you alright?"

"Yeah." John placed the glass down and looked around him. Jim on one side, Geoffrey in front of him, Spock and Nyota on the other side. "Huh, didn't reckon on you two being here."

Nyota huffed a laugh and Spock raised an eyebrow as usual.

"I told you they would," Geoffrey chimed in, slightly less tense. "How are you feeling, Leonard?"

"Sore, like I've been lying down for a whole damn week, which," he raised a hand to stop any of them from interjecting, "Yeah, I know it's been, you were pretty vocal about it."

"You could hear us?"

"Loud and clear, Nyota."

"Bones, what… Why?"

"Because either of you two idiots would have died." There was a beat of stunned silence. "Pretty sure you'd have died on the spot or just a couple of hours after we came back, especially if it took me a week to get up."

The silence wasn't as amicable as it could have been. It did give everyone a moment to let the words sink in, however, starting with Geoffrey's.

"Leonard," Spock started, choosing his words without really meeting anyone's gaze. The fact he called him by _a_ name was enough to make John tense. "I must ask, is there any significance to the name which Doctor M'Benga called you by?"

John's blood ran cold. He turned a glance to Geoffrey, and he could swear the man had turned to stone with an apologetic look on his face. Oh, he wasn't getting away with it.

"Yeah, there is," he sighed. They couldn't escape that topic, but he could at least brace himself for it. "I'd rather not have this conversation while I'm stuck sitting on a biobed, though."

Instead of any form of protest, Spock backed away to give him enough room to stand. Jim was understandably confused and ready to ask more questions. Nyota, bless her heart, followed Spock's course of action.

John simply walked out of the private room and into his office – the real one – earning some surprised glances and greetings along the way. He wondered for a second just how much Geoffrey had told the staff but focused on the uniform he kept in his office for the time being.

*****

Jim and Nyota were sitting at his desk; Spock was standing beside Nyota; Geoffrey tried to walk away from the whole thing. A great start. John took a deep breath as soon as he re-entered his office, all but dragging Geoff along.

John had been quick to get dressed, more than he would have liked. He gave himself no time to think, and now he had no idea how to start explaining something that he thought no one else needed to know.

He must have said it out loud. Nyota was the one to reply "The name Geoff called you?" _Right_. Right, he should –

"That's just his name," Geoffrey said, sitting down on the cot off to the side. Before anyone could accuse him of losing his mind, he continued, "I mean, his actual name."

Everyone frowned at that. Well, Spock turned an honest-to-goodness curious look at John while the other two frowned at Geoffrey's words. John glared at him for the second time in the hour.

"Thanks for the lack of context."

"It's about all I know, so you're welcome."

John sighed, and instead of arguing, he turned his attention to Spock. "As the son of an ambassador, you… You've heard of Olduvai before, right?"

"Doctor, I fail to see how this is relevant to the topic at hand."

So, he did know about it.

"Spock, just humor me for a change."

He took a brief moment of consideration. "It was an archeological site on Mars in the 21st century, although it also served as a research facility." Spock took note of how still the doctor was, standing by the door. "What happened to the facility isn't present in any official records, however."

"There are no official records, Spock," John noted. 

"21st century, that's when the first contact between humans and Vulcans happened," Nyota commented with a fair amount of confusion in her voice and expression. "There should be records of some kind."

John pinched the bridge of his nose with a huffed laugh. "No, trust me, there's nothing. The place was a genetics research facility." A deep breath in... "When they found humanoid remains, they thought it'd be a good idea to do human tests with the genetic material they managed to extract from one of the fossils." John wasn't looking at anything in particular. Everyone else seemed to be frozen solid. "An extra chromosome either turned people into a monster or some," he paused, gesturing toward himself, "Unaging superhuman. You can guess how well that went."

"Doctor, are you implying you carry such chromosome?"

"As a matter of fact, Spock," John finally moved to the desk, "That's _just_ what I'm saying. It's what kept me alive every single time I got shot in the past ten years."

"Wait, wait a second," Jim spoke up, his frown never leaving his features, "Bones, you better go from the beginning."

"Right, name." The situation didn't seem as bad as he expected once he had started talking. "John Grimm. Former sergeant for the U.S. Marine Corps. 250 years old, and… Sole Olduvai survivor, at this point."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, carry on toward the epilogue, sweethearts! I said I'd do it, so I did it.


	2. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Secrets were told, people walked out, conversations happened but, maybe more importantly, he didn't go anywhere.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (mostly unbeta'd epilogue)

Nyota and Geoffrey had shown some form of reaction, although it wasn't a particularly good one. It wasn't much of an indication of what they were thinking at all. Jim and Spock, however, had minimal reactions and their silence bothered him more than he would care to admit.

The fact that the two of them walked out in complete silence, minutes apart, left John feeling uneasy. So he left for his quarters with the excuse of tiredness, which might not have passed as believable. It was the best one he could give, anyway.

He went straight to the bathroom as soon as he got to his quarters and hopped into the shower. He had a week of sweat to get rid of, and focusing on warm water would be better than letting himself think too much about what had happened.

*****

"Captain," Geoffrey greeted as he made the rounds in medbay. "If you're looking for Leonard, he left a while ago."

"Oh." Jim had barely stepped through the door when he stopped in his tracks. He looked around, almost as if he doubted the acting CMO and expected Leonard to be just around the corner, but Jim knew he would have heard his voice if he were in there somewhere. "Uh, no, actually. Are you busy?"

Geoffrey simply nodded toward the office door and let Jim lead the way. He was careful to lock the door as soon as both of them were inside, and Jim ran a hand over his face with a sigh.

"How much did you know?" Jim asked simply, his voice low and contained. "I mean, about the whole thing."

"Only his name and the 24th chromosome." Jim nodded. Geoffrey continued, "He needed someone to patch him up if something happened to him."

"And it took over ten years for _something_ to happen," Jim stated matter-of-factly, although something in his tone said a lot more than a simple fact.

"Captain– Jim," Geoffrey called, and he turned to face the doctor. "Go talk to him. The way you and Commander Spock left, I wouldn't be surprised if he's expecting to be kicked out of the ship."

*****

He missed the door buzz the first time. Whoever was outside John's quarters rang it again, patiently waiting for the doctor to open the door. So he did it, after a minute or so. John paused at the door, staring at his visitor.

"Spock," he said as a greeting, "What are you doing here?"

"I would like to talk, Doctor." John merely stepped aside to let him in. "Thank you."

Before he turned around, John ran a hand over his face, bracing himself for whatever Spock was there to talk about. He motioned to the couch, and the Vulcan moved silently. Spock sat on one end of the couch, collected, with his hands clasped together in complete opposition to how John all but collapsed back onto his spot on the other end, looking straight ahead.

"Doctor–"

"Pick a name." John hated how demanding he sounded, but he didn't say anything more than that and he didn't let his expression change when he turned to Spock.

The first officer regarded him in silence for no more than three seconds but it felt like an eternity. Spock broke the silence with a minute sigh, something he now knew never escaped the doctor's attention. "Leonard," he turned a determined look to John. "I would simply like to ask some questions about… Certain aspects of your past."

John understood what Spock had said, he truly did, but his mind caught onto just the first word. " _Leonard_ ," he echoed with a huffed laugh. "Well," he sighed, "It's not like I can run away."

"Why would a Vulcan know?"

Of course, that would be the first thing he'd want to know. "Let's just say Soval was perceptive." He shrugged, looking away. "Besides," he continued before Spock could speak, "You Vulcans are good at keeping secrets."

Spock hummed his response. After a beat of silence, he continued, "Why did you assume your relationship with the three of us would change?"

"Why–" John barked out a laugh. "You gotta be kidding me, Spock." The Vulcan raised an eyebrow at him. "Eugenics has been illegal since the end of the 20th century, for starters," he raised a finger, counting his reasons, "My medical license is probably as legal as this whole thing," he raised a second finger. "I spent the last ten years lying to this crew," John dropped his hand, "And the way you and Jim left wasn't an indication of much else, you know?"

The tone in John's words caused Spock to tense and take a deep breath before saying, "I apologize for the implications of such behavior." Spock wasn't quite meeting his gaze, something John realized meant he was choosing his words. He waited for him to continue. "I assure you, we only needed time to process the information," Spock said in earnest. "In fact, it explains much about your behavior."

"Does it, now?"

"Yes." Spock stood up to leave in lieu of elaborating. "Although I will refrain from taking any more of your time tonight. Rest assured, Doctor, your place among the crew is unlikely to change."

That hobgoblin had the nerve to look smug as he left his quarters without any explanation. But despite how cryptic he was, John felt slightly more relaxed.

*****

The gamma shift had barely ended when Jim left the bridge, coming short of running to the turbolift. He decided on a smaller, quick dinner. Bones had been out and about for a full day now and he did need to talk to him.

Jim was lost in thought, trying to sort everything inside his head, and he paid no mind to the hiss of the turbolift door. Not until seconds passed and it didn't close.

"Captain," John greeted, far too cautious for all Jim was used to, walking in to stand beside him. Jim kept his focus on the doctor, who frowned under the scrutiny. "What are–"

"You're right," Jim interrupted with a slightly louder voice, "No one else needs to know any of that."

John stopped the turbolift, somewhat abruptly, and turned to Jim. "Do you even realize what you're saying?"

"That we're all willing to not talk about it?" Jim casually shrugged, although it was quite clearly forced. "We get that it's a lot for you to talk about after so long." Jim paused. "Besides, I'd rather keep my CMO."

"Unbelievable," John muttered underneath a chuckle. "I should have… Said something." He looked away before continuing. "Maybe it would've helped."

"It would just make us worry more, trust me."

Jim had a small smile on his face when he set the turbolift back in its course, and John finally felt like he really could relax.

"So, I'm not getting kicked out of the ship?" John glanced at him with a raised brow, leaning against the wall of the lift. "I'm pretty sure the vacuum of space could actually kill me."

His tone was mocking enough, but Jim couldn't help turning to him with a horrified look and say, "What, no, what the fuck, Bones!" He sighed at the laughter that escaped the doctor and, after a beat, asked, "Wait, you're not planning on leaving, right?"

"Not really. Maybe some years ago I would've considered it," he shrugged, "But not anymore."

*****

"Can't judge you for hating transporters, now." Jim adjusted his uniform as if he had just gone through the Ark himself. "Though I wish you had left that one for _after_ we were back on the ship."

"Where's the fun in that?" John was the first to walk away from the beam-down site, looking around and eventually turning back to Jim. "Besides, getting flung – or scattered – across space just isn't something we should be doing."

"So your preference lies in a shuttle, Doctor?" Spock finally spoke up after silently listening to the conversation even before they reached the transporter room. His tone wasn't exactly vicious, but it wasn't an innocent question either.

John simply turned a glare to the Vulcan, who smirked in response. "Okay, fine," he groaned, "I _do_ prefer the transporter over a shuttle."

"Captain," Spock called to Jim with a satisfied expression quite clear on his face. "Initial scans show the planet to be safe for further surveys."

"It's never 'safe' with the two of you, let's be realistic here."

"Oh, c'mon, Bones, it's not that bad," Jim protested but got only a raised brow in response. He took out his communicator, smiled, and said, "Kirk to Enterprise. You can send the rest of the survey team down, Scotty."

John couldn't understand what Scotty replied, but Jim walked over to him with a grin. "Alright, they should be here soon. I've got just one other question, in the meantime," Jim said, patting his shoulder. John braced himself the best he could for– "Was it 'Reaper' as in the _grim reaper_?" He rolled his eyes with a sigh, but Jim kept going. "I mean– A doctor called Grimm?" He noted playfully. The other man groaned. "Oh, come on, you gotta appreciate the irony there."

"Trust me, it's not _lost_ on me." John threw a glance at Spock, who was back to silently watching their exchange. He took a relatively deep breath in. "Could we just get on with this, already?"

The rest of the survey team beamed down then, and Jim gracefully dropped the topic of _John Grimm_. At that moment, he was simply _Leonard McCoy_.

And if he spent his time on that planet in a better mood than usual, it was no one else's damn business.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So. I have words to say here. First of all, _thank you_. People kept coming back and leaving kudos and comments and it just means the world to me. They, as well as the turn my life seems to be taking, were the greatest motivation ever and now this epilogue--after a while of sitting among my wips--is complete. In good ol' Halloween too!! So, enjoy this small update as a thank-you-for-coming!!
> 
> Secondly, _more_ is coming. All Reaper!Bones content because that's my niche, apparently, so if you like what I already here... ;D
> 
> Again, thank you guys. All of you really motivated me to finish this up today, so thank you for your patience!


End file.
